That's really sad, especially since Canada is supposed to be one of the better off economies right now..
I imagine it's the same in most Western countries right now.. it's incredibly shameful that our once prosperous countries have been reduced to this.

What part were you in .. everytime I've been to Canada it was like being in ... America. Only the people were nicer and the cities
cleaner. And the beer better. But, it's honestly not hard to beat American beer....

Originally posted by wantsome
No offence to my Canadian brothers but I've been to Canada a few times. It's like a third world country compaired to the US.

A good example of NOT denying ignorance.

"One of the world's highly developed countries, Canada has a diversified economy that is reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon
trade—particularly with the United States, with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship. It is a member of the G7, G8, G20, NATO, OECD,
WTO, Commonwealth, Francophonie, OAS, APEC, and UN. With the eighth-highest Human Development Index globally, it has one of the highest standards of
living in the world"

It's all well and good to have an abundance of "natural resources" but it isn't worth a hill of beans if no one is buying it. And the only people
with consistently high standards of living in this country are those involved in organized crime or growing pot. Or both.

Originally posted by wantsome
No offence to my Canadian brothers but I've been to Canada a few times. It's like a third world country compaired to the US.

No no, the North American Union doesn't state anywhere that Mexico has become part of Canada. I'm guessing that's the only way a person could
possibly equate "Canada" with "third world."

I wonder pretty much daily how in the heck anyone not making professional class wages can support a family in America or Canada these days.
Personally, I think the "living beyond your means for years" argument is part of a media/political coverup. The fact of the matter is, unless you
count paying the rent, having a vehicle to get to and from work, eating something a bit better than Ramen soup, and managing to do anything more
complex than watching ants march across the lawn for entertainment as "living beyond your means" most Americans and Canadians are simply trying to
get by as best they can. The real problem isn't evaporating personal credit... I think most have done great with that, the real problem is roughshod
inflation of necessities, excessive taxation outside of simple income tax cutting into already tight budgets, and a lack of any sort of job growth
which might spur better wages.

Blaming the average person for barely being able to make ends meet is like blaming the dog for crapping on the rug after you ignored their begging at
the door for 12 hours.

Originally posted by wantsomeNo offence to my Canadian brothers but I've been to Canada a few times. It's like a third world country
compaired to the US.

Sorry, but I call shenanigans on this statement.

I can only go by my experience. I live in British Columbia and travel around the southern half of the province (an area about the size of Washington
state) plenty, so I have a good idea of what our economy here is like. Financial times have been a bit better in BC, but they've also been a lot,
lot worse.

A year ago I went on a road trip from BC down to Sedona AZ and back, passing through Washington, Idaho, Utah, northern Arizona, Nevada, northern
California, Oregon, etc. I don't know about eastern Canada - maybe things there are worse than in BC - but man, oh man, the western US was not in
good shape. Especially Nevada and Arizona; I saw too many closed businesses and houses for sale to count. In places like Reno and Flagstaff, I'd
guess at least 1 out of every 6 houses had a for-sale sign on the front lawn. When I asked a real estate agent about it, he said most were
foreclosures.

Now that was a year ago, but from everything I've read and seen financial matters are worse now in the US than a year ago. I drive over the border
to Bellingham and Seattle maybe once a month or so, and again, I still see many closed businesses and foreclosed homes. Maybe in your part of the US,
things are going well but I can tell you that's not true for a lot of the country.

Originally posted by wantsome
No offence to my Canadian brothers but I've been to Canada a few times. It's like a third world country compaired to the US.

That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. I will say that we do have a resource based economy which we allow the developing and developed
countries of the world to exploit as if we were a third world country. On the other hand we know how to spell offense and compared properly... =)

I'm not making things up I live on the Canadian/US border. I've been all over eastern Canada including Montreal and Toronto. My family moved to the
US from Canada in early 1900's. While Canada isn't Mexico Canada sure isn't up there in standard of living where I come from.

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